Game Day Gazette
June 11, 2026
Summer is clearly upon us and that means vacation time for the family. It also means opportunities for those looking to play multiple games through the player draw. On Thursday, we had a total of twelve players drawn for the two games and these “mercenaries” had a significant impact on the outcomes of their respective games as you will see below.
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Green (5-3-0) vs. Red (4-4-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Long awaited rematch between these storied rivals as they last faced off on 4/16/26. Couple of rainouts and a quirk in the schedule have prevented these two from going head-to-head. Today’s game had special significance as a win by Red would catapult them into a first-place tie with Green.
Green- facing a loss of over half of their roster due to injuries or vacation time, Green had to draw six (6) players from the bucket to field a team for today’s game. As luck would have it, four of those players came from the Orange team (Jim Foelker, Terry Thompson, Barry McRee and Bubba Barnett). In honor of their massive contribution, I am going to be referring to today’s collection as the “Brown” team. Jim Maloy and Ray Pilgrim filled out the rest of the roster for the “Brown” team. Paul Rubin opened the game with a weak pop up to 3B and that would prove to be the only out of the inning. Jack Spellman picked up the slack as he drilled a ball over the right fielder’s head for an inside the park home run. Dean Hector slapped a single up the middle and scored on Denny Malloy’s triple. Denny laced a ball to center and Patrick Schmidt tried for the shoestring catch, but the ball scooted under his glove and Denny wound up at 3B. Tom Kelm walked to put runners on the corners. Jim Foelker walloped a ball to the left center field gap and did not stop running until he crossed the plate with a three-run inside the park bomb to complete the five-run 1st inning. 2nd – Terry Thompson led off the 2nd with a prodigious drive to left center for a triple. Jim Maloy reached on an infield single as Terry held at 3B. Ray Pilgrim bounced into a fielder’s choice for the 1st out on a grounder to 2B on a nice play by Terry Watts going to his left. Barry McRee brought Terry home with a fielder’s choice grounder to short for the 2nd out. Bubba Barnett lined a single up the middle to keep things rolling. Paul drove in the 2nd run with a sharply hit grounder through the box. Jack lined a single to right to drive in two more runs as I was able to sneak across the plate when the throw coming in from right field was mishandled. Dean bounced out to short to retire the side but not before “Brown” put up nine big runs!
Red– finding themselves in an early hole, Red struggled to get back in this one, Terry Watts opened the inning with a base hit to left. John Flowers lined a shot to right but Barry had him played perfectly and he made the catch for the 1st out. Patrick Scmidt and Bobby Hawthorne followed with back-to-back hits to load the bases with nobody out. Butch Barber lined out to right on another good catch by Barry. Sal Lopez made the final out on a flyball to shallow left center to Jim F. 2nd – Mike Mordecai fouled out and Chris Villareal was retired on a comebacker to Terry T., and it looked bleak for Red. Jack Kelly started a two-out rally as he looped a ball down the right field line for a single. Red picked up two mercenaries for this one as they provided immediate payback as Jack Adams and Gary Coyle had back-to-back singles to plate the 1st run of the day for Red. Terry W. lined out to short to end the inning.
End of 2nd Score: “Brown” 9 Red 1
Third Inning Recap:
Brown– continued to rake as the first four batters reached in this frame. Denny led tings off with a single to center. Tom followed with a line shot to left. Jim F. drove in the 1st run with a single to left center. Terry looped a single to shallow center field to load the bases. The 2nd run scored on Jim M.’s fielder’s choice groundout to 2B. Ray ripped a single to left center to bring in the 3rd run. Barry grounded sharply to Gary at 3B, and he helped to turn an inning ending 5-4-3 double play to avoid any further damage.
Red- a promising inning was turned around as Red’s aggressive base running proved costly. John smoked a ball down the right field line for a leadoff single. Patrick followed with a ground single to right center. I was playing shallow and got to the ball quickly. John unwisely opted to try to go 1B to 3B on this hit. Jack made a nice catch on my relay throw and fired to 3B to get John by several steps. On the backside of the play, Patrick thought he would sneak into 2B but Ray’s throw back to Jack beat him to the base to complete the unlikely double play. Bobby fouled out to close out the scoreless 3rd for Red.
End of 3rd Score: Brown 12 Red 1
Fourth Inning Recap:
Brown– continued to pile on with three more runs in the 4th. Bubba led off with a single but was forced out at 2B on my grounder to Terry. Jack lined a single to right allowing me to reach 3B. I scored on Dean’s fielder’s choice ground out to short. Denny and Tom followed with back-to-back hits to load the bases. Jim F. came through with the big hit of the inning as drilled a ball to left center for a two-run double. Terry T. ended the frame with a ground out to short.
Red– P Tom Kelm continued his mastery over the Red hitters as he tossed his 2nd consecutive shutout inning in the 4th. Butch opened the inning with a double down the right field line, but Tom retired the next three batters to keep Red off the scoreboard.
End of 4th Score: Brown 15 Red 1
Fifth Inning Recap:
Brown– put the icing on the cake with a five-run outburst in the last of the five-run innings. Brown sent seven guys to the plate, and all reached with base hits in this dominant offensive performance. Jim M. and Ray opened the frame with back-to-back singles. Barry drove in the 1st run with a shot up the middle. Bubba reached on an infield single to load the bases. I hit one up the middle that caromed off Jack’s leg into left field to drive in the 2nd run (sorry about that Jack!). Jack Spellman looped a ball to shallow right center for a double to drive in two more runs. Jack had an awesome day at the plate going 4-4 with five runs batted in. Dean’s single to left center drove in the 5th run to complete the scoring.
Red– finally got their bats going in the bottom half of the 5th. Jack K. singled to open the inning. Jack Adams and Gary followed with back-to-back hits to load the bases with nobody out. Terry W. walked to force in the 1st run. John lined a single between 1B and 2B to drive in two runs. Patrick flew out to right center for the 1st out. Bobby fouled out and it looked like Tom might be able to wriggle his way out of this one. But Butch had other ideas as he lined a single to right to bring in two more runs as Red completed their 1st five-run inning.
End of 4th Score: Brown 20 Red 6
Sixth “Open” Inning Recap:
Red– at this point, the teams flip flopped and Red stayed at the plate for their buffet inning. It was over quickly as Sal popped out to short and Mike lined out to right center for the first two out. Chris reached on a single but Tom retired Jack K. on a pop fly to short to put an end to this one.,
Final Score: Green 20 Red 6
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Gray (5-5-0) vs. Orange (4-5-0)
First & Second Inning Recap:
Gray-Welcomed back leadoff man, Scott Wright, for today’s game. Scott looking refreshed proceeded to open the game with a sharp single up the middle. Mike Carroll followed with an infield single. Peter Atkins lined out to right as Barry McRee continued to display his defensive process with a catch for the 1st out. Gary was retired (code for I have no clue what happened!) for the 2nd out. Ray Pilgrim hit a ball that looked to be in the right-field gap, but it held up and I was able to secure the catch to retire the side. 2nd– Gray stormed back and put up five runs in the 2nd. Lynn Simpson and Jeff Broussard led off the inning with back-to-back hits. Phil Stanch followed with an opposite field single down the right field line to drive in the 1st run. Larry Coons looped a single just over 3b to drive in the 2nd run. Margarito popped out to 2B for what appeared to be the 1st out. Home plate umpire, Terry Watts, called infield fly rule but apparently not everyone heard the call. Peter, pinch running for Larry, advanced to 2B on the play but the runner at 2B, Phil, stayed put at the base. Sal threw to 3B to get an out on Phil and complete the double play. Patrick drove a single up the middle to score Peter with the 3rd run. Scott and Mike followed with back-to-back RBI singles to complete the five-run 2nd inning.
Orange- failed to put up any runs in the opening frame. Terry Thompson bounced back to P Ray Pilgrim to start the inning. Adam Gordon used his speed to reach on an infield single. Jack Adams flew out to Peter in center field for the 2nd out. Jim Foelker lined a single to left center to keep the inning alive, but Ray got Barry to ground into a fielder’s choice to retire the side. 2nd– like what Gray did in their first two innings, Orange bounced back in the 2nd with four runs to keep this one close. Ray lost the strike zone and walked Greg Tolander and Bubba Barnett to open the 2nd. Luther Elmore grounded to 2=3B and Gary got the force at 3B for the 1st out. Paul Rubin reached on an infield single to load the bases. Chris Villareal ripped a drive down the right field line to bring in two more runs. Manager Bruce Barnett rolled the dice and opted to send me home on the hit but Scott’s throw to Margarito beat me by two steps for the 2nd out. Sal Lopez launched a ball down the left field line over the head of the outfielder for a double. Terry smacked a hard hit ball to center field for a two-run double before Adam ended the inning with a fly out to Peter in CF.
End of 2nd Score: Gray 5 Orange 4
Third Inning Recap:
Gray- P Terry Thompson facing the heart of Gray’s lineup, managed to retire the side in order. Peter flew out to center, Gary bounced out to short and Ray fouled out in the scoreless 3rd inning.
Orange- grabbed the lead with a five-run outburst in the 3rd. Jack Adams and Jim F. started the inning with back-to-back singles. Barry bounded into a fielder’s choice out at 2B for the 1st out. Greg reached on his 2nd consecutive walk to load the bases. Bubba came through with a line single to center to drive in the 1st run. Luther singled to bring in the 2nd run. Paul laced a double to left center to drive in the 3rd run. Chris, having his coming out party for the 2026 campaign, followed with a single to right to drive in two more runs giving him four RBIs for the day.
End of 3rd Score: Orange 9 Gray 5
Fourth Inning Recap:
Gray- Lynn was retired on a comebacker to P Terry to lead off the 4th. Jeff singled and Peter came in to run for him. Phil flew out to center for the 2nd out. Larry lopped a single to center and Peter was off with the hit and never slowed down. Chris got to the ball quickly and relayed to Adam hand is throw to Luther arrived at the plate just ahead of Peter for the final out.
Orange- despite marching seven men to the plate, Orange only managed to score a single run in the 4th. Sal started the inning with a single through the 5/6 hole. Terry grounded to 3B and Gary flipped to 2B for the force and the 1st out. Adam lined what appeared to be a single to center but Peter playing in was able to gather the ball and fire to 2B ahead of Terry to get the force and the 2nd out. Jack singled to put runners on 1B and 2B and Jim laced a single to left center to drive in the only run of the inning. Barry drew a walk but Greg popped up to short to end the frame.
End of 4th Score: Orange 10 Gray 5
Fifth Inning Recap:
Gray- got themselves back into this one with a four-run outburst. Margarito and Patrick opened the frame with back-to-back singles. Scott singled to load the bases with nobody out. Mike drew a walk to force in the 1st run of the inning. Peter drove a ball to left center that was deep enough to get the runner in from 3B. Gary singled and Ray fouled out for the 2nd out. Lynn and Jeff followed with RBI singles to close the gap to one run. Phil hit one back to Terry to close out the inning.
Orange- with their lead cut to one run, Orange was looking to play add on in the 5th. P Ray struck out Bubba and got Luther on a groundout to 3B for two quick outs. Paul reached on an infield single and moved to 3B on Chris’ 3rd hit of the day. Sal lined a single to left to drive in the only run in the frame as Terry bounced out to short to end the inning.
End of 5th Score: Orange 11 Gray 9
Sixth “Open” Inning Recap:
Gray– chasing two runs, Gray was aided by some leaky fielding and managed to put up three runs to take the lead in this back-and-forth affair. Larry and Margarito each reached bases on infield hits that easily could have been out. Patrick grounded to short and Adam was able to get the force at 2B for the 1st out. Scott singled to bring in the 1st run of the inning. He was forced out at 2B on Mike’s grounder to short for the 2nd out. Peter drilled a hard shot up the middle to drive in the tying run. Gary followed with a single to put Gray on top before Ray hit into an inning ending fielder’s choice.
Orange– chasing one run, Orange had the heart of the lineup due in the inning. Adam went down on strikes to open the frame. Jack picked him up with a clean single to left center. Jim, who had been perfect at the plate up until this at bat, hit into a fielder’s choice groundout to short for the 2nd out. Down to their last out, Barry came through with a clutch single to center to put runners on 1B and 2B. Greg popped a shallow fly that dropped in over short for a hit. Jim was flying around the bases and easily scored the tying run. Bubba had a chance to be the hero but ending up popping out to short to end the game in a tie.
Final Score: Gray 12 Orange 12
Current Session Standings:
|
|
ASSL C league 2026 2nd Session |
|||||||
|
|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Green |
6 |
3 |
0 |
0.667 |
122 |
81 |
41 |
– |
|
Gray |
5 |
5 |
1 |
0.455 |
121 |
124 |
-3 |
1.50 |
|
Red |
4 |
5 |
0 |
0.444 |
80 |
89 |
-9 |
2.00 |
|
Bkue |
4 |
5 |
0 |
0.444 |
74 |
108 |
-34 |
2.00 |
|
Orange |
4 |
5 |
1 |
0.400 |
102 |
97 |
5 |
2.00 |
Green’s dominating win over Red coupled with Gray and Orange during to a draw extended Green’s lead in the 2nd session race. Still only two games separate the five teams as competitive balance seems to be holding!
Season-to-date Standings:
|
|
ASSL C league 2026 Season to-date Standings |
|||||||
|
|
Win |
Loss |
Ties |
Win % |
Scored |
Given up |
Diff. |
Games Behind |
|
Gray |
15 |
7 |
1 |
0.652 |
280 |
223 |
57 |
– |
|
Green |
12 |
6 |
0 |
0.667 |
240 |
171 |
69 |
1.00 |
|
Orange |
9 |
9 |
1 |
0.474 |
206 |
187 |
19 |
4.00 |
|
Blue |
7 |
11 |
0 |
0.389 |
134 |
220 |
-86 |
6.50 |
|
Red |
4 |
14 |
0 |
0.222 |
167 |
226 |
-59 |
8.50 |
Green is now just one game behind Gray, but Orange and Blue are lurking in 3rd and 4th and are by no means out of the season long race.
Next Games: Monday June 15, 2026
Game 1 8:30 a.m. Blue (4-5-0) vs. Orange (4-5-1)
Both team battling to get back to .500 for the session.
Green has umpiring duties for this one.
Game 2 9:30 a.m. Green (6-3-0) vs. Red (4-5-0)
Rematch of Thursday’s beatdown by the Green/Orange combined squad. Will Green continue to draw multiple players and can they duplicate the success of Thursday’s draw. All will be revealed on Thursday.
Blue will be taking on the umpire responsibilities in this game.
Gray will have a bye on Monday so their players (along with the unassigned players) will have priority in the draw.
Other News and Notes:
· Strong possibility of rain (90%) on Monday so check your email on Monday morning to see if the games are on. If this happens, it will be the 4th time a rainout has occurred when Gray has a bye, just coincidence or something bigger going on here?
· Request from PARD, when they are cleaning the restrooms please use the Porta Johns that are conveniently located by the trash bins while they are cleaning. Thanks.